What we do

*Master of Public Health Leadership * - Innovative Change

STM East Africa started operating in 2005, with its first partnership program at Uganda Christian University (UCU), near Uganda’s capital, Kampala, aimed at reducing the obstacles to safe childbirth. This training program for leaders in Uganda, leading to a Masters Degree in Public Health Leadership, equips professionals from diverse professions to make a difference in their sphere of influence, giving them the tools and skills they need to become strong advocates for change and build new societal infrastructures.

Students are working professionals who study on a part-time, modular basis over two years, completing the program with an intensive outreach project that challenges them to reenter their sphere of influence and prove that their new found skills will make a difference. It is designed so participants can continue to work while studying.

“When you save a mother’s life, you save the best person to raise her children, feed, clothes, vaccinate, and educate them, and also contribute to her community, her economy, her environment. Save the mothers and you can save the world.”
~Sarah Brown, Wife of former Prime Minister of the U.K.

The almost instantaneous profile of the Masters program, and the level of interest by applicants (most modules, more than 100 apply for 25 seats), shows the need to train people to be advocates. Professionals are recruited to the program through media advertising, regular information sessions and personal invitation. Each class has 30 students. Student profiles include four Members of Parliament, journalists (national newspapers, radio), teachers, clergy, military, health workers and a micro-financier.

At Save the Mothers we believe that a multi-disciplinary approach is needed to save some of the 342,000 mothers and four million children who die in the developing world annually due to unsafe childbirth. The burden falls on more than just health professionals, and simply building more hospitals and clinics is not the solution. Rather, the societies where mothers live need to be awakened and changed from within. There are five important spheres of influence, along with health care, that have a direct impact on the number of mothers dying;

Our Outreach Projects

Mother Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (MBFHI)

Save the Mother East Africa, recognizes the great need to ensure that quality health care for all mothers is available. This is in relation to poor maternal and child health indicators across the East African states.

In response to this Save the Mothers East Africa launched the Mother Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (MBFHI). This initiative mobilized STM graduates as advocates and advisors for safe motherhood to work in partnership with 12 hospitals in Uganda.

Save the Mothers in collaboration with the advisors use an assessment tool to identify gaps and work with hospital staff and key stakeholders to identify solutions to address the gaps in the hospitals. The advisors also conduct support visits to the hospitals. Some of the improvements in the respective sites include procuring hospital supplies and equipment, setting up High Dependence Units in the maternity wards, installation of rain water harvest system for one of sites.

Midwifery Mentorship and Coaching (MMC)

Save The Mothers’ (STM) Midwifery Mentorship and Coaching (MMC) model targets the critical gaps in training and supporting of midwives and key hospital staff. This mentorship program  trains, mentors and coaches  midwives in clinical knowledge, communication, and leadership skills that empower them to advocate for themselves and educate community members on prevention of maternal and neonatal deaths and morbidities.

 MMC Model Orientation – meeting with 38 key stakeholders who included Ministry of Health and representatives of nine health facilities.

 Mentorship and coaching – 50 frontline health workers from the Mother Baby Friendly Hospital sites have been trained by STM.

STM is grateful to support from Stronger Together

High Dependence Units -HDUs

Save the Mothers East Africa is contributing to the reduction of preventable pregnancy and childbirth related deaths by specifically improving the quality of care for mothers who reach the hospital with life threatening complications. STMEA has set up High Dependence Units (HDUs) in Hospitals that are identified by the Ministry of Health as high burden in Maternal Newborn Health related illnesses and deaths, these facilities are serving rural districts of Uganda. 

For the HDU implementation, STM is working with five Hospitals. And each of them have a partnership with STM EA. These hospitals are Jinja Regional Referral HospitalMbale Regional Referral HospitalMityana General HospitalNakaseke Hospital and Tororo General Hospital

STM EA through the Jeff Family Foundation supports these five hospitals by procuring medical equipment and emergency medicine required by the HDUs. 

Save the Mothers has set up HDU in maternity units of five MBFHI sites of Mityana General Hospital, Mbale Regional Referral Hospital, Nakaseke Hospital, Tororo Hospital and Jinja Hospital.

Post Natal Care for all Uganda – Domiciliary approach

In the October 2021 Save the Mothers started implementing Post Natal Care for all Uganda (PNC4U) project in eastern Uganda; Bulambuli, Manafwa and Namisindwa districts in partnership with health centres in hard to reach mountainous areas of the Elgon region.

PNC4U takes post-natal care services to homes and enable mothers and the newborns to access post-natal care with the aim to increase the postnatal coverage and reduce maternal child morbidity in communities through early screening and management of post-partum related conditions from families.

The PNC4U has a seed fund component to promote saving for maternal and child health services. Working with existing community saving groups, STMEA provides the groups with a seed fund, which the community groups grow and use to access services such antenatal care, health facility delivery and family planning among others.

Emergency Medical Care Fund (EMCF)

With support from Leila C Reader Foundation, STM provides emergency medical and psychosocial support to vulnerable mothers at selected hospitals (the Mother Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative), in order to ensure a safe and dignified delivery for vulnerable mothers. STM implements this initiative in Kagando Hospital in Kasese district, western Uganda, Mbale People’s Hospital in Mbale City, eastern Uganda and Boro Boro Health Centre III in Lira district, northern Uganda.

In Kagando Hospital over 25 women have benefited and in Mbale People’s Hospital about 10 HIV positive mothers have accessed ANC and safe delivery services, including ARVs.

Save the Mothers appreciates support from the Leila C. Reader Foundation.
Emergency medical care fund beneficiary masika zezila twins

 

 



 

 

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Jeremiah's Story

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Save the Mothers

Uganda Christian University
Plot 67-173, Mukono Hill,
Bishop Tucker Road
P.O. Box 4, Mukono, Uganda
Telephone:+256-312350840
Email Us: EAdirector@savethemothers.org

About

Save the Mothers promotes maternal health in the developing world through education, public awareness and advocacy. Based in Uganda and North America, Save The Mothers is part of a global movement to improve the health of mothers and babies.

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